Saving Scout O'Brian

31- Starved

I barely remembered the first time I'd seen a horse.

It was in my second foster home. I was about six years old and watching tv in the living room of an older woman who I'd been placed with. I had been new and scared to the foster system, but this lady was nice. She baked me chocolate chip cookies and let me sit on the floor of her living room to eat them, watching tv. It was a nice place, a place I held in my mind long after the woman had fallen ill and long after I had been removed from her care.

Seeing horses on tv held nothing to the real thing.

The animals were glorious, strong, taller than I ever imagined. I stared up at them, not embarrassed to admit that my mouth was wide open. The first barn was magnificent, all cherry-woods and black metal frame stalls. The alleyway was clean but bustled with activity. Grooms pushed large wheel-barrows full of manure out of the barn. There were currently three horses in the barn isle-way, the first and closest to me was as grey as Evelyn's eyes but speckled with dotted white markings on the rump. His mane was pure white and grown long, as was the tail that dragged the floor. His neck was arched proudly as he pawed impatiently at the concrete floor, the ears that flicked toward me were tipped strangely towards each other.

"That is Sargent." Evelyn spoke from beside me, moving toward the animal without hesitation. Sargent snorted and blew air in her face, but she simply smiled and patted his huge neck. "He's called a Marwari. Currently the only one in the US. He was born in Iran and is our 2 year old pride of a stallion." Sargent stuck his head out and whinnied proudly. Evelyn laughed and beckoned to me. "Come on, he won't hurt you."

I bit my lip but moved forward, Charlotte stuck like glue to my side. The animal's withers towered high above my head, I was sure I looked tiny standing next to the beast. "Raise your hand slowly to his nose, let him see you and learn your smell." I did as she asked, slowly reaching my hand toward his nose. The stallion nickered and his nostrils flared wide as he took in my smell. He shook his head and sneezed, startling me. Evelyn laughed at my disgusted face. "I guess I didn't clean you well enough this morning." She winked at me, causing my heart to stutter in my chest.

I blushed and ducked my head, moving closer to the animal. I could feel the heat that radiated off of his coat, the sweet smell of grains and hay filled my nose and I was surprise to find that I like it. I placed my hand gently on his coat, and a shudder went through his body. The fur was corse but baby-soft.

"Beautiful." I whispered.

We let Charlotte have a turn, which caused an eruption of giggles as Sargent nuzzled her cheek, before she ran off to investigate something else. I shook my head and laughed at her.

Evelyn patted his neck. "Trust me, he knows it too." She grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. "Come on, I want you to meet Lady." She pulled me away from the young horse, who looked rather disappointed to be losing our attention.

If Sargent was massive, the next horse was tiny and stout compared to his long and languid body. She was a cherry-red color, with white socks that came up to her knees, and a wide strip of white that ran from between her ears to her muzzle. She was wider in the belly but stocky and it was proportional to her body. Her tail and mane were shorter than Sargent's, and nearly the same color as her coat, with hints of blond mixed in.

"Lady." Evelyn greeted softly.

The mare's ears twitched and her head immediately swung towards the source of her name. "She's a quarter horse, these horses are bred for mainly western riding, and we use her for cutting or sorting cows." I had no idea what she was taking about or what it meant but I just continued to nod my head and look like I understood.

I was surprised when the mare stretched out her long neck and shoved her muzzle into my hands. Her long whiskers tickled my palms and made me laugh. Evelyn grinned and leaned over to kiss the side of my head. "There's a sound I haven't had the pleasure of hearing in a while." She breathed into my hair. My cheeks were red but I didn't care as I turned my head to meet her lips. The kiss was soft and sweet but chaste. Excitement threaded through the clouds of her eyes as she pulled me down the long alley way, away from Lady. We passed rows and rows of shiny stall doors and many horse heads poked over them to nudge me as we passed, hoping I had treats. A shape at the far end of the barn grew larger and larger as we approached, and I wondered if my jaw was going to come unhinged with how much dropping I was doing.

"This is December." Standing in front of me was perhaps the most beautiful animal I'd ever seen. The horse named December was pure black, with a coat so black it was nearly purple with a mane and tail to match. Her coat was shiny, the light reflected beautifully off the short strands. "She's three years old and our newest addition, although we haven't had much luck with her since she has quite the temper and doesn't trust easily. She's a Lipizzaner. We rescued her when she was about ten months old from an abusive home. If you look closely enough you can see the scars crisscrossing her sides where they whipped her." Sure enough, there were slightly raised scars here and there across her body. I covered my mouth with my hands, tears flooding my eyes.

"How could someone do that to her?" I gasped.

"Horses are a lot alike people and are actually one of the smartest animals in the world. There are many people who take that for granted. We are lucky to have her." She replied, stroking my hand in reassurance. I marveled at the look on her face, the utter openness and calm demeanor she was exhibiting. She'd always been remotely calm around me, but this was different. This was like she was free. Like she didn't have to pretend anymore.

"She's beautiful."

December turned her head towards my voice, her large ears swiveling, a low nicker escaping her mouth. Evelyn raised a brow at her in surprise, before switching her gaze to me. "It appears she likes you."

I reached my hand out, hesitating for a moment, but I had nothing to fear from the horse as she immediately shoved her nose into my hand, soft nickers escaping her. "That good, right?"

Evelyn laughed. "Well I hope so! Because she's yours."

My hand immediately dropped from the horses's face. "What?!" I gasped, spinning on my heels towards her. She couldn't be serious! I didn't even know how to ride!

"You can't give me a horse! I have no idea how to ride! And plus that's way to much, I can't accept this Evelyn."

Her stare grew sharp. "Do you not like her?"

I backpedaled quickly, waving my hands. "N-no, that's not....ugh yes! She's gorgeous and I'd love to have her but that's too much to ask of you."

Evelyn simply crossed her arms and stared at me, a stubbornly determined look on her face. "Good thing you didn't ask then, now isn't it?" She replied, arching a perfectly sculpted brow at me. "She is a gift Scout, I want you to have her. Please." The sharpness dropped from her voice as she said please, and I saw her expression open up into one of pleading. She desperately wanted me to have December. Why a horse of all things, but I found myself flooded with love and amazement as I looked back at her.

"Okay." Her eyes lit up and she wrapped me in her arms, spinning me around. "So you like her?" She asked excitedly as she set me down. I laughed and swatted at her, turning to look at the mare, who watched us with a calculated gleam in her eye.

"I love her, and you." I whispered, crushing my mouth to hers. Everything fell into place as Evelyn's hands found my hips, I felt the love in my chest solidify and grow as her fingers laced with mine. I was for the first time in my entire life, completely at peace.

Hi. I hope you enjoy this update. Thanks for reading. Please vote comment, and have a good night.